Poems (Forrest)/The holy man

by Mabel Forrest

THE HOLY MAN

They feared the friar in the hall,
 A holy man and grim;
But when the little Princess came
 She only smiled at him.

The friar preached the life austere;
 The Princess did not care—
She saw the kisses in his eyes
 A woman had left' there.

And when he died of fast and prayer,
 And men from north and south
Made pilgrimage towards his bier,
 She set upon his mouth

A damask rose her garden grew . . .
 They blamed such worldly wile,
Then trembled at the miracle
 Who saw a dead man smile!